Black Hand (extortion)
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Black Hand was a type of organized extortion committed mainly by criminal immigrants from southern Italy, active primarily in the eastern United States during the first quarter of the 20th century in
A New York Police Department wanted poster for Black Hand activity, 1910
Enrico Caruso
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Enrico Caruso was an Italian operatic tenor, who sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses of Europe and the Americas, appearing in a wide variety of roles that ranged from the lyric to the dram
Black Hand (extortion)
…Petrosino is an evil day for the Italians of America, and none of us can any longer deny that there is a Black Hand Society in the United States." Tenor Enrico Caruso received a Black Hand letter on which were drawn a black hand and dagger, demanding $2,000. He decided to pay, "and, when this fact became public…
Caruso, c. 1910
Enrico Caruso as the Duke in Rigoletto, 1904
Caruso as Duke in The Theatre, 1912
The medal that Caruso gave to Pasquale Simonelli, his New York City impresario